


Of Monsters and Men

by We_Are_Not_Monsters



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-28
Updated: 2012-11-05
Packaged: 2017-11-17 06:54:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/We_Are_Not_Monsters/pseuds/We_Are_Not_Monsters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking place in New York City, Detective Elena Gilbert and her partner Damon Salvatore, are on the hunt for a serial killer when Elena makes an ally in someone she never expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own The Vampire Diaries or it's characters (personally, I would settle for just the characters, but I digress) I also do not own the band Of Monsters and Men, which is where the title to this story came from because I was lacking in originality, and it seemed fitting. No copyright infringement intended.

**Chapter One**

Drip, Drop, Drip, Drop  
Rain pattered against the window, like the sounds of horses hooves clacking onto the cobblestone path through Central Park, but it was ten at night so the horse drawn carriages were gone for the day.

"Already leaving Elena?"

The woman pulled her jeans on quickly a she turned back to the man in his bed, as she never took anyone home to her place.

"Yeah Damon, it's late and I have to take Koga out since Jer isn't around." She replied quickly and by the look over Damon's ice blue eyes, too quickly.

"You can stay the night you know, it is raining…kind of hard. I'm sure the mutt will be fine." He made a reach for her hand, but Elena stepped away, tying her long pin straight brown hair into a pony tail.  
The truth was, Elena didn't want to spend the night, it was a bit too "relationship-like" for her, and when two NYPD detectives (who were also partners) bed together, things could only get more complicated. She didn't need any bumps in the road when her career was a straight path ahead of her.

"A little rain never hurt anyone, besides, we have work in the morning, or did you forget?" She already had her boots on and was pulling her coat over her body when thunder crashed from above.

"Of course I didn't forget, but I'm surprised you didn't. Isn't that the only reason you slept with me anyway? You want to forget about work?"

Rustling around under the sheets, Damon sat up, the burgundy cloth still wrapped around his waist and Elena had to divert her gaze from him. Damon Salvatore was an exceptionally good looking man and she could easily find herself physically attracted to him, the way his bright blue eyes contrasted against his raven colored hair, and the scruff that shadowed his jawline would make the aqua pools shine even brighter as they pierced directly into her chocolate browns. She refused to examine the rest of him, even as he would force his presence on her to draw attention to each and every muscle. She had seen enough of him tonight, and from the mood that she was in, for the rest of eternity. Elena needed more than him, and while he was right –she was using him to forget about the current horrors of the case they were working on- Elena knew what they were doing was wrong.

While growing up, she was raised in the belief that only "city girls" had friends with benefits, and while she grew up in the small town of Mystic Falls, she saw after two years of living in New York City just how much she had changed.

"I am not talking about this right now Damon. I'm sorry."

"Fine" he sneered, folding his arms over his chest, "Do what you have to do."

Her partner was usually the cold one of the pair, playing more the "bad cop" to Elena's "good cop" , but most of the time he understood her motivations while now things seemed to get clouded in the act of removal of clothing and everything else that happened after.  
This was not who she was though, Elena Gilbert was a young promising detective who many believed to have moved up the ranks too soon and at the bright age of twenty five to Damon's twenty eight, had never been in love before. She was driven solely by her job, helping those in need, it was her dream. Homicide was what she lived, breathed ate and drank, and apparently even made love in it's name.

Seeing Damon stare at her with glazed eyes made her heart sink, the same look as the time before this.

She had made a mistake.

"I will see you at work tomorrow," the brunette tried to smile as she opened his bedroom door, she felt absolutely dreadful for what she was doing to her partner-her friend most of all- but she had to cut this off before it became even more complicated.

"All right, get home safe." He grumbled, and Elena knew usually he would have told her to text her when she got home, or give him a call but by now he was probably done with seeing her face as well.  
He walked her to the door tentatively, and with each step, Elena felt the air of regret weighing down on her. The turning of a key in the lock brought them both to freeze and instinctively (as if it wasn't his apartment) Damon put his hand out in front of her to stop her stride, but she pushed past regardless, opening the door.

On the other side was a young dirty blonde haired man who looked worn down to the core and like a soaked rat.  
"Stefan!" Elena smiled, pulling Damon's younger brother into a quick hug. "Sorry I haven't gotten the chance to see you yet, but how is the new job?"

The younger Salvatore, at twenty six years old, had just started the fall semester as a history teacher at the local high school. Elena and he had become fast friends when she started working with his brother, and knew it wasn't his dream profession (working in a high school that is) but it was a good way to get his foot in the door. In a way, Stefan was like a brother to her (which added yet another reason why she could never be with Damon in that way, she looked at him like a brother as well) so as long as he was content where he was, she was happy for him.

"Not bad, brings back enough memories I would rather not come to mind, but it could be worse."  
Elena nodded, knowing exactly what memories he was talking about. High school, even with states between them, had been hard on both of them.

"Well I'm on my way out so I'll see you around Stef okay?" she passed a smile to her friend and turned back to wave at Damon, but frowned when she saw he disappeared into the bathroom, most likely to avoid questions from his brother. It was a normal sight for Stefan to find Elena in the apartment at all hours of the night, but with Damon in only a bed sheet? That was not something he would not want to see, and they wouldn't hear the end of it…ever.

The Salvatore's apartment was slightly more "middle class" than her own cheap one bedroom, but the halls of the building were still grey and dismal with some of the paint peeling to the ground. As she ran to the elevator, she could hear the sounds of the Russians down the way, arguing and tossing around the furniture. She made it down to the main floor without getting roped into a conversation with any of the straggling neighbors (which for city people, Damon's neighbors were freakishly polite to them both, but that was most likely because they knew the two were cops.) and ran outside, throwing her blue hoodie over her head as she waved on for a cab.

It was eleven at night when the cab dropped her off at her own building which was, in comparison to Damon and Stefan's, much less inviting (as the people were too) and dark since getting the maintenance man down to fix anything was like pulling teeth from a rabid dog lately. She waved hello to John, the lonely bitter old man who spent his entire day sitting behind the desk in her cringe-worthy apartment building, Elena scurried up to the elevator and crossed her fingers the entire way up to the eighth floor. This was a habit that had become routine since her first day of moving in with Jeremy (who moved into the apartment down the hall) and the elevator had broken down, taking nearly two hours for the repair man to come and get them out. It was not the most inviting way to be welcomed to the Big Apple.

The grey doors to the urine smelling elevator squeaked open, and she brushed the hair out of her eye which was plastered against her skin. When she reached her door, the key that would manage to get stuck sporadically, clicked into place and thankfully turned allowing it to open straight into the living room, which was decorated with pictures of her life before the city. That was before she got promoted and transferred to the New York Police Department Homicide division two years before. It was an attempt on her end to make the apartment look like home, even though it was only an empty shell of the life she now lived.  
Crime scene images have filled her thoughts as of late, and if she wasn't at the precinct or at the bar with her work friends, the only reason she ever went home was to sleep the memories away, only to be plagued by others, and to spend time with her dog. It was a never ending cycle, going in, going out.

Just as Elena moved to slump onto her couch (one of the only things she bought brand new once moving to New York ) the house phone rang, stirring Koga up from his sleep in the bedroom doorway (a reminder she had to let him out before going to bed herself) with a soft growl. There was only one reason that anyone would call her this late, somebody had to have died, and with a look at the caller ID, her suspicions were confirmed.

They had been chasing him for weeks, whoever this murderer was. Already the psychopath had twelve kills under his belt…that they knew of…with three people murdered each Friday night. They should have been prepared, she should have known better than to go out, she should have gotten her sleep. It was going to be one of those evenings.  
It was midnight when Elena arrived at the crime scene, this one in a back alley, and this time around she was thankful to remember her umbrella.  
Hopping out of her cab again, (she saw no point in buying a car, she had nowhere to put it) Elena bumped into the coroner who was rushing past with his assistant and a stretcher carrying a body bag on top.

"Hey Cary." She had to project her voice over the loud buzz of the rain pounding to the ground and the scattered voices of the other police officers on the scene.

"Detective! We've got two more over that way by your partner and the Captain. You might want to get over there quick; everyone is rushing around as you can see."

Elena surveyed the area, the coroner wasn't joking about the commotion. In an effort to preserve the crime scene, the uniforms and the rest of the investigators were scouring the ground for any possible evidence while flashes, reflecting into the puddles formed, shown brightly as pictures were being taken.

"Elena!"  
The brunette turned, gripping onto her badge instinctively, to Damon who was wearing a black t shirt and jeans, which matched Elena's current relaxed style. She didn't want to admit that she wasn't prepared to see him after only an hour and a half before with what happened, but she had a job to do.

"What happened here?" she cut straight to the point, leaving the niceties to the curb where they belonged for the moment while her eyes darted around the scene like chasing fireflies in the night. She was making sure to take a mental note of her surroundings as she looked down to her feet where the rain water ran down the black asphalt, any evidence floating away with it. The coloring of the street however, was off in the slightest; the runoff was flowing red as blood, what little there was left.

"Same M.O as the last four," he replied, pretending as if nothing had happened between them only an hour before, leading her to the center of the crime scene.  
One body remained untaken, it was, however, wrapped in thick heavy plastic. "Three victims. Erin Carlson, Mark Ruben and Sean Granger, all drained of blood from their wrists and their neck." He knelt down and lifted the plastic just enough to show a male victim's wavy blonde hair, but Elena had to look away. On the table, she could look the dead straight in the eye without flinching, she could watch the coroner remove the heart, or even examine the brain with the scalp slipped forward covering their face. Where others would get sick, instead she would ask questions and take study the body hands on. Seeing one cold, out in the open, where they didn't belong dead but rather living their lives, was a different story and she would quickly find herself getting attached.

"He's getting smarter." She mused with disgust rolling over her tongue, "Keeping the bodies in the rain will wash away any evidence."

"Or sloppy." Damon pointed out with a pass of his hand, "This time, we have a witness. The Captain is with her now."

Elena shot to her feet and followed her partner's pointed finger in the direction of her police captain, Alaric Saltzman. There has never been a witness before.

"I…I have to go talk to her!" she gasped waving to Damon as the coroner returned. When she went over to the captain and the teenaged girl, she couldn't help but laugh to herself at the relaxed state of her relationship with her partner. Sure it was awkward for both of them as even Elena could cut the tension with a knife, but they managed to keep an airy feel between them in conversation.

"Captain." She announced her presence quietly over the sea of umbrellas, "This is the witness?"  
Alaric Saltzman had been the captain of their squad for only four years, and helped her acclimate to the city when she moved in. Elena figured him as more of a father figure, a mentor, since she had lost her own when she was a teenager. He was one of the best men she had ever known.  
Alaric turned his attention to her and nodded intensely, his light brown hair plastered over his piercing hazel eyes as he pulled her next to him in front of the young blonde teenaged girl.

"This is Ana Woods. She is a waitress at the diner down the block and was walking home when she saw someone fleeing the scene. That was when she discovered the bodies."

Elena nodded with a frown, pitying the poor girl. Nobody that young should have to see something as horrible as this, yet she stood in front of her, still in her work uniform and soaked.

"Did you call the sketch artist? It might help to get this bastard's face all over the papers."

Alaric agreed but gave his detective a passing look as he realized they had gained a small crowd on the other side of the police tape.

"I'm going to take her home, we don't need her getting harassed…or discovered."

Elena scanned the crowd through the drops of rain coming off of her umbrella when she saw an older familiar face waving frantically from the other end of the tape.

"Detective!" the woman called out while being pushed back by an officer, "Detective Gilbert!"

Elena approached, trying to shield her emotions from this grieving woman. Her son David was one of this killer's first victims, along with his girlfriend and another friend. Over the past month, Elena became dangerously close to the family and they managed to come into her life much deeper than she had intended.  
Agnes, the mother, was an elderly woman who always managed to stay positive even though her husband (who she had only met twice) seemed more depressed on the matter but Elena knew the woman was only putting on a strong front. She had done it herself when she lost her parents. She called daily for an update on the case, and each day Elena became increasingly distressed to have to tell her they had nothing and over the month more bodies for these ritualistic killings built up, yet no evidence had ever surfaced.

"Is it him again?" she whispered, her hands frail from worry as her body shook like a leaf. It killed the detective to nod a yes to her, just as it did each week she had seen her since her own son's murder.

"It's looking like it…"

"I may just be a convenience store clerk, but I have watched enough episodes of Law and Order and CSI to know that the rain washed away the evidence…" She grabbed onto the detective's hand with pleading, desperate eyes the rain water hitting her face where tears could have (should have) been, and the look shattered Elena's heart. Hope was becoming lost to this woman, and Elena Gilbert was her only anchor.

"Will we ever catch him?" She was crumbling before the detective, all of her heart and soul had gone into searching for her son's killer. This was only another piece to be washed away.

"There is only hope Agnes…" she placed a reassuring hand on the woman's cold, wet shoulder. "There is always margin for error. You have to keep that in mind. We will catch him."  
The woman laughed while wiping a tear (or rain, Elena couldn't tell the difference anymore) from her eye.

"Easy for you to say…you do this for a living…"  
Elena shook her head as her heart dropped. Had she really turned so cold? Turning her back against Damon, shutting him out as she did (regardless of if it was truly wanted, because she didn't, but she could have let it down easier) this woman and her feelings, maybe she had become numb.

"We have a witness this time. I told you, there is always a margin for error." For a moment, there was a look of relief on the haggard mother's face.

"You need to go home and spend time with your family." The brunette directed, nodding to an officer who was standing guard by the yellow tape, "and this officer will take you home all right?"

Agnes stepped even closer to Elena, a new look shining in her eyes that even the rain couldn't dim.  
"They have a witness?"

Elena had never seen the woman so elated, they were brought together by the destruction of her family, yet now she was smiling. This is why she loved her job.

"You should be going home too Detective. You look exhausted."

With a sigh, Elena waved goodbye to the woman as she followed the officer to the squad car and turned back to the now cleared crime scene.

No body, no evidence and enough rain to flood a basement to the top, there was nothing more that she could do here.

"Need a ride?"

The brunette turned sharply, her heart pounding in her chest, to be face to face with Damon, who seemed to have lost his umbrella on the way.

"No, I'm all right, I'm just going to hail another cab." She wasn't prepared to be in the car with him just yet.

Her partner's lips turned into a frown and his eyes turned into tiny disappointed beads as he stared at her. "You don't need to be like this Elena."  
Of course she knew this already, they were partners, and in the head of the moment (or two) they had made a mistake (or two).

She wanted to feel what love was, but this was not the way.

Elena arrived back at home with only a couple of hours left to sleep. She had specifically moved close to the precinct, yet one more way to tie herself only to her profession, so she wouldn't have to commute.

"Hey Koga" she grumbled, greeting the two year old black Great Dane, a gift from her Aunt Jenna before she left Mystic Falls to "protect her niece from the city". He was one of her only friends outside of work, besides the ones she kept from Mystic Falls, and the only thing she looked forward to coming home to. "I owe you a jog I know…Sorry buddy." She scratched him behind the ear before filling his food bowl, barely able to stand on her own two feet, let only take her one hundred and twenty pound dog for a run.

With a sigh, Elena dragged her feet to the bedroom and changed into an oversized t-shirt and shorts before checking her cell phone, which she conveniently left behind when she got the call to the crime scene. She had one text message from Caroline, one of her best friends who moved to New York a year before she did to attend school for fashion design. Ignoring it, knowing she would get back to it tomorrow, she set her alarm clock, and saw she had three hours until sun rise.

A new day, a new case, and hopefully new evidence for the old.

With all of this "new" in the equation, the days should not feel the same each time around.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two  
One Week Later**

 

                It was a cool brisk Friday morning, so before heading to the precinct, Elena finally decided to take Koga for the long awaited, and promised jog through Central Park.  
The past week had been spent following up on any leads for the “3X Killer” as the media dubbed him, which all led nowhere. Even the sketch from the first liable witness brought in nothing, as it was a man with a five o’clock shadow, sunglasses, and a hood. Not the best description, but it was better than nothing she supposed. Needless to say, running around like a chicken without a head trying to find a man with sunglasses and some stubble had taken her attention away from her exercise…and Koga’s.   
They had nothing, but each day when Agnes called, she found herself lying through her teeth. “We are still searching” or “”we are just following up on another lead”. It killed Elena to give this woman false hope since the truth was that they once again, had nothing, but knowing she helped the tired old woman sleep with some peace of mind had made it all worth it.  
Tonight was their next shot; they were going to patrol the streets for any sign of their killer. It was Friday, and he was nothing if not on schedule.

  
                Amidst Elena’s thoughts as she jogged with Koga, she hadn’t even taken the time to breathe in the fresh air, the smell of crisp leaves that were fallen onto the path as they crunched under her feet and Koga’s oversized paws. This case had ruined her eye for natural beauty. Draining someone’s blood, slitting their throats and wrists wide open? The act was unnatural on it’s own. How could she see anything else anymore? Everything more just seemed to be so…tainted of the purity it deserved now.   
  
Kogas deep bark snapped the detective (who had stopped being as observant as she should) back from her morbid thoughts, but not in enough time to crash into what felt like a brick wall.

“Ow!” she cried out, staring into a man’s broad chest, his blue t-shirt the only thing she saw for a moment. “Oh god, I am so sorry!” instantly, Elena began to apologize, but wouldn’t look up to the stranger’s face.   
The man only laughed however, in what seemed to be intended to be light-toned he grasped her carefully by the shoulders and stepped back to survey the damage, but Elena refused to look at him from embarrassment, but she could see the skin around his chin tighten as he smiled.

“Hello there.”

Koga sat tall by the detective’s side as she put her head in her hands, shaking his own from her shoulders. “Again, I am so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention!”  Feeling ridiculous, and sure they had an audience, Elena slid past him, giving a half of a wave. For some reason, she was lost for any other words, where while in the past, she would have stopped, said hello, apologized, and possibly flirted a little, but not this time.   
Not anymore.  
“Have a nice day!” She called off to him, running away with Koga at her side, leaving him in the dust with her focus forced ahead of her. She was going to head home.

* * *

 

                A quick shower and change put Elena in much better spirits as she went into work feeling confined by her dress slacks and tight green blouse that hung loose only around the neck,

Today would be different, she vowed to herself, they would catch the murderous monster who’s number of victims was only climbing, she would be able to watch as they gave him the lethal injection as it was exactly what this monster deserved.   
Elena’s mood was light and airy as she entered the precinct, but the moment she reached her squad room, the mood crashed to match the dark looks being passed around the room full of detectives.

For a moment, Elena only stood in the doorway, wary to enter while Alaric, visible from the door of his office stood at his desk, frantically speaking on the phone, while Damon looked on with his brow furrowed until he saw his partner and waved for her to join them.  
Once she was in the Captain’s office, he had already hung up the phone-or rather, slammed it back on the receiver in frustration (with possibly a hint of fear).

“What’s wrong Captain?” the brunette inquired, matching his worried expression. Alaric was usually more level-headed, able to make decisions for his team while pushing his emotions aside, and seeing him like this meant that it was serious.

“Our unknown friend has switched his pattern up.” He spoke gravely, and Elena’s heart plummeted to her stomach.   
_No. It’s not supposed to happen like this._ She thought with anguish, every plan she had, her last chance before another was murdered had been shattered, broken into bits of mirrored shards to the ground.   
She had herself to blame here, she had expected too much (or not enough) from this killer.

“What are you talking about?” her voice rumbled and she gripped onto the chair for balance.

“He means the so called 3X killer struck one night early.” Damon sneered, his eyes filled with the icy cold of anger, disgust and disappointment. “Which is why we have a crime scene to get to.”   
Elena’s conscious held heavy while her partner sauntered past her, and when she turned to follow, the captain held her back.  
“Detective,” he requested of her tentatively, “do you have a moment?” He was looking straight to Elena as she pointed to herself and looked out the door, but Damon was already gone.

“What’s wrong Captain?” she refused to allow her voice to quiver. In a way, Alaric worried her, his look of disappointment making her feel as if a lecture was coming her way. He was more like her father than she ever would have wanted.  
“I’m not so sure there is a problem Gilbert, that is why I am talking to you about it first.” Once in a while, her captain’s hazel eyes would change from green or brown depending on the lighting, or even his mood. Right  now they were a darker shade of green, prodding into Elena’s as she considered his expression and finally came to the decision that it was disdainful, possibly as if he was (dare she think it) betrayed by her.

“What of?” she finally squeaked out after careful, tedious thought. She closed the door as Alaric sat at his desk and motioned for his detective to do the same, but she declined. She wanted whatever was on his mind out and sitting down only make her more nervous.

“It’s about you actually, and your…fraternization with a member of the squad.”  
Elena gasped while shifting back on her feet, this couldn’t be real.

“Captain I…” she felt like she just got caught sneaking out of her parent’s house on a school night.

“Listen, I won’t judge you. “ he cut her off, “But whether the rumors are true or not…I don’t think I need to explain to you how stupid it is to mess around with a co-worker.” His tone was as sharp as a knife, but his eyes were seemingly forgiving. All of their usual niceties and common titles were out the window now, and Elena had to defend herself.

“Rick you know I…I’m not like that. What happened had been a mistake.” She stepped closer to her captain’s desk, wondering who it was that found out about her and Damon’s…”relationship” (which she wouldn’t exactly call it that) , the desk had been empty besides the picture of his wife, who passed a few years back, Isobel, and met his gaze. “It will not happen again sir.”

Alaric’s arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back, unimpressed by her tone, whether it be in an official tone, or a friendly one.  “Elena, I worry about you, you know there is no reason for you to date someone that you work with.” This fatherly advice was beginning to get to her, “I wish you would get yourself a personal life…you know, outside of work. Otherwise I am afraid you are going to go crazy.”

Elena couldn’t help but smile. Silently, Alaric was telling her that he didn’t want her to turn out like he did. Her captain lived, breathed ate and slept the job (especially since Isobel passed away). Even Damon had a social life, but she never saw it as a possibility for herself. Elena was just too invested in her job. She wanted to help others first, and put her own life to the side.

“You act like it is so easy for me to meet people!” she laughed, that was how light hearted and thoughtless she felt about her love life (or lack-there-of). It was a joke. “The first time in weeks I met someone of the opposite sex was this morning when I crashed into him on my jog and I didn’t even want to look at his face!” she sighed listlessly, she had no hope. She couldn’t even start a conversation with a  potentially good looking man out of her own awkwardness. She wasn’t even able to look him in the face to apologize the job had ruined her so badly. She had heard of so many stories when it came to women who didn’t have any idea that the man they loved had been some heartless killer or some mob boss. Elena never wanted to fall prey to anyone like that.  
She was twenty five years old, and at this rate, she was going to be forever alone.

How depressing.

“I’m just warning you, avoid work relations Elena, they are more complicated than necessary.”  
The detective nodded, but she had already made that decision for the same reasons (one of the many) so this conversation-or sad attempt at a lecture- was becoming pointless.

“I know Captain,” she smiled as sweetly as she could, slipping back into formal mode. “Now I have a crazed murderer to hunt down if you don’t mind.” She turned her back to Alaric, and as she went to the door she heard him say “Like a dog Gilbert, hunt him like a dog.”

* * *

 

 

                Damon and Elena pulled up to an older looking apartment on the west side, the steps busy with crime scene investigators and more uniforms. They had barely gotten out of the vehicle when two officers whisked them up the stairs to the crime scene which was much…bloodier than the last few.

“This entire time we never knew what he was using the blood for…” Elena noted, tugging at her arms, “It looks like he never needed it.”  
“Sadistic bastard.” Damon spat, moving throughout the scene, which was in the living room of the home and in complete disarray. Glass had been broken on the floor where a lamp used to stand, it’s shade ripped to shreds, showing it was likely one of the victims tried to fend off the killer from a knife attack. Pools of blood were formed around the lifeless bodies and from their positioning and their current surroundings, Elena could see it was a hack job. She went over to examine the bodies before the medical examiner took them away, her own skin twitching the entire time as seeing them like this, barely out of their teens would likely haunt her.

“So young…” the brunette sighed while kneeling before them. They looked like they were in their early twenties, and when she turned to find her partner, who usually did this part of the job, Damon-to her own surprise- was off to the side talking to the owner of the household and by the looks of the blood spattered pictures on the walls, he was the girl’s father.  
She watched closely, not catching any of their names, as her partner led the man and his wife outside when she heard a gasp come from one of the crime scene techs.

“What is it?” Elena stood and saw Damon return to the living room, wearing a forlorn expression. He always loathed speaking with the families, which is why usually their current roles were reversed.   
Both detectives had their attention focused on Hannah, one of the newer crime scene techs, whose eyes were shining in excitement.

“I may have him.” The tall brunette was beaming as if she had found out that she won the lottery, which with the following information. She looked like she could hardly contain her excitement , which was understandable. This was big news.

“What do you mean you may have him?” Damon snapped as he put on a pair of white latex gloves and rolling his sleeves to his navy blue dress shirt.

“What I mean…is that any sign of prints around here have been wiped clean…except this one right….here.” she smiled again as she lifted the tape from the smooth molding on the wall. “From the looks of it, we have a perfect print. If I leave now, I may have it ready for you tonight.”

Elena’s heart soared at the idea, the thought of having a real lead was beginning to sound foreign to her. This was it, the big break they needed in this case. This was surreal, and as she watched Hannah run out the door, followed by two other officers, she was left with Damon, the coroners who finally arrived (late due to a devastating car accident on Broadway) and the bloody crime scene.

“I could really use a drink after this…” Damon exhaled looking out the nearby window that overlooked the city streets, “It has to be five o’clock somewhere right?”  
Elena tried not to laugh (it seemed so inappropriate at the grotesque view before her) and ambled past him while patting her partner on the shoulder.

“Let’s go Damon. We have the other families waiting for us at the precinct.”

* * *

 

                There were too many tears, too much heartbreak, and still not enough explanation. They were depending on the new evidence and Elena was not kidding around with every hour that she called looking for an update. She didn’t care who she pissed off, she had families that needed answers, something that the crime scene techs would never understand.   
Without that print, they have nothing, and for once she had good news for Agnes when she called but Elena hadn’t heardfrom the woman in two days.  
Something had to be wrong and it was midafternoon when she got the call. A woman found unconscious in her home.  In all of her detective prowess (or in this case, lack thereof) Elena had no idea the elderly woman-whose son had been taken too soon- had been ill all along.

                Mercy Hospital was dangerously quiet for the afternoon, which some would take the silence as a good thing while Elena found the doom and gloom hanging heavy in the air discomforting as she walked down the hallway, lacking in the facetiously smiling nurses as they passed by.  
Room 502- the oncology wing.  
Elena knocked quietly on the door and waited for the faint voice to give her the OK to enter.

“Good afternoon detective, it’s so nice to have another visitor.” The frail woman looked greyer than the week before, “I’m sorry I haven’t called, I’ve been a little preoccupied.” Agnes passed a weak smile, her eyes still only partially open as Elena sat down next to the bed. This woman was so strong, regardless of her current position. Nobody else Elena knew would apologize for their inaction while strung up in a hospital bed, possibly dying of cancer.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she questioned, her look deepening in despair.

“Would it change anything?” the woman replied, rolling her head into the detective’s direction and Elena only shook her head, feeling dejected. It wouldn’t change much of anything, for her at least but that didn’t mean she cared any less.

“Exactly.” The woman coughed, “Besides, while you fight your battles out there, I fight mine in here.” She seemed so valiant, even after the loss of her son, while she smiled warmly.   
Agnes was dying, and Elena still didn’t have her son’s killer. “My husband told me you had news?” The woman’s faded green eyes were beginning to brighten at the thought, and Elena was proud to nod, having positive news for once.

“We found a print” she gleamed, and for a moment, the life returned to Agnes, the glimmer of hope that Elena longed to see finally coming back. That light however, shrouded to darkness the instant two nurses entered the room.

“Sorry detective, we need to get to her first round of chemo.” The nurse piped up, giving an apologetic look and Elena stood.

“Agnes, I’ll be here the second we find anything. I don’t have any promises but we are hoping for the best. “

“Promise?”  she had to reassure herself while the nurses moved her to a wheelchair and Elena nodded before running out the door.    
While walking down the hallway, she heard an angry yet familiar voice booming from the nurse’s desk.

“Listen to me will you!? I am looking for a Detective E-Lay-Na Gilbert. You would know if she was here, so where the hell is she?”

“I understand what you are saying sir but-“

“Damon?” Elena froze in her path, confused at her partner’s presence.

“Elena!” Glaring to the bewildered nurse, who threw her hands up in exasperation he ran to her. “Where have you been? Are you all right?” he gripped the brunette by the shoulders, his eyes glazed over in concern.

“I’m fine Damon!” she laughed, pushing him away, “Just visiting a friend.” Her partner nodded, gripping her by the arm and led her out the door.

With each step, she wanted to speak her Captain’s words again _“Things are getting complicated, I just want my partner”_ In the beginning, she thought that she was kidding herself, but now she knew for sure.  Seeing the look of worry in Damon’s eyes, this was past a partner’s concern, what had happened between them was a mistake.   
“What’s going on?” she questioned, now wondering why he was in such a rush.

“Hannah got the print back.”

 

                When they arrived back at the precinct, Elena had thought Alaric looked distressed this morning, but now it seemed as if he needed more than one drink and had already had too much coffee.

“So what do we have?” she asked instantly, barely able to contain herself as she was ready to jump from her skin. Her captain only waved towards the conference room where the entire squad was waiting in front of a large dry erase board.  
When the three walked through the door, a sea of faces all turned their attention to Damon and Elena as Alaric took to the front of the room, his two lead detectives hanging back against the wall.

“So, Hannah down in the crime scene unit pulled a print from our latest crime scene.” He began by sticking a picture of the molding the print came off of to the board. “It seems our perp is starting to get a bit sloppier and luckily she was able to rush it and we got a match.”   
A wave of murmurs swept through the group, excitement playing through the air and even Elena stepped forward. This was big news, but Alaric’s expression was less than celebratory.

“You don’t look like you have good news Captain.” Damon pointed out as they both approached closer.

“That would be because of whom the print belongs to.” The Captain turned back with another picture and slammed it to the board with more angst then the last.  
Elena, now in the front of the group took a closer look to the surveillance photo as Alaric scribbled a name underneath.

_Nicklaus Mikaelson._

“Who is this?” she queried, pointing to the dirty blonde man, whose eyes were covered by dark sunglasses looked very similar to the police sketch by the witness.  In the picture, the man was by a limo, walking with a man (who looked as if he could have been a bodyguard) with his back slumped slightly forward and his hand in the air with arrogance. Whoever this man was, unrecognizable to Elena’s “New to New York” eye, he seemed to be in a position of power.

“That,” Alaric pointed to the picture, “Is Nicklaus Mikaelson. The middle child of the entire family.” He looked to Elena curiously, and then scanned the crowd to see others were unfamiliar. “You don’t know who they are? That’s okay because this is our shot to finally take them all down.” He nodded to Elena, choosing to clear more space from the board and she could tell she was in for a lesson. In large letters at the top he wrote the words _Mikaelson_.  “Now, when going for this family, you need to make sure you are able to bounce a  quarter off of the evidence. I will give you the basics since going against them blind is suicide.” He paused to make sure everyone was paying attention. “Nicklaus Mikaelson has been arrested multiple times in suspicion of robbery, two banks and who knows how many houses, but the team of lawyers his family has backing them is always getting the charges dropped, and some of the cops fired.”

“What?” Elena’s voice jumped, “How does someone have that much power?”

Alaric laughed while diverting his gaze, and Elena could see well enough that he hated this family, but regardless of his hatred…going from robbery to being a serial killer? That was a stretch Elena never thought possible.

“What would be his father, Mikael. He is a real estate mogul, owning multiple large companies all over the world. We have some intel on him, but none of it is good news. It is believed that Mikael runs his fingers through more than just buying properties and companies. We can add murder for hire and corporate espionage to the list and we are all sure there is more.”

“Why hasn’t he been arrested?” Elena pushed again, already disgusted but she was sure he wasn’t finished.

“Well for starters, he is never in the country, so we can tell and practically untraceable. Now, I am not finished because the only way to take them down is to know the entire family. Their force is unwavering at this point. They are too powerful for their own good.”  
Elena passé a glance to Damon, who was going through paperwork and she wondered if he had dealt with these Mikaelsons before.

“Now that “team” of lawyers is led by the second oldest son who runs as the silent owner of one of the largest law firms in the city, Finn. To be honest, besides running the law firm that puts criminals back on the streets, he seems to run more in league with his mother.”  
Alaric put the other three pictures up, the older man and woman, both with frightening gazes, and of Finn, a carbon copy of his father with his thick brown hair and piercing green eyes yet his soft smile while he stood in defense of his client was slightly more comforting than those pictures of his father and younger brother.

“Esther Mikaelson, the matriarch, spends her husband’s money on running charity events like a stepford wife.” Elena examined the woman’s picture, her never aging beauty making the detective, who could feel the wrinkles forming daily, cringe.

“How many more are there?” one uniform questioned, making Elena feel relief knowing she wasn’t the only one unfamiliar with this family.

“Three.” Damon stood, passing the rest of the papers to the Captain, who continued.

“These two,” he put up two more photos, and from the looks of them, they must have been the two younger siblings both physically polar opposite of each other. The girl was young beautiful and blonde with a radiant and  happy smile brightening her green eyes, and the young man had dark hair and eyes shadowed with a demonically wild expression showing his canines in a devil’s grin…in their mug shots. “Meet Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson. If you follow  the tabloids you know who they are as they prefer to be the life of the party which alone gets them into enough trouble. They are a paparazzi’s dream, but a cop’s nightmare.  For starters, Rebekah was a champion gymnast growing up, and now she is…allegedly using those skills in stealing high-end art with the help of her two brothers. The three of them seem inseparable, which is making them unstoppable.”  
To Elena, there was no such thing as unstoppable, but there was one missing piece she wanted to find as it seemed the captain was done.

“You said that there were three more, who is the last?” Alaric pointed his finger in the air, and shrugged slightly.

“That’s…another problem. We only know his name and that he is the oldest of the family children. Otherwise we know him as a blank face named Elijah Mikaelson. We have no idea who he is, where he lives or what he does. To be honest, we don’t even know if he is anything like his family at all.”  
Elena raised an eyebrow, looking at the array of faces before her, combining their genetics in her mind to create the unknown brother to their suspect, Nicklaus. There were many things this man could be, he could be an asset, or their worst nightmare (and while she realized this applied to all of the family she found herself wondering if the hidden man was the smartest of them all) and as the officers around her began to murmur quietly amongst themselves, she realized that many of them were afraid. They were afraid to take on this family.

_Why?_ She wondered angrily. The Mikaelson family was breakable, they were only human.  
They would all have to pay for their crimes.


End file.
